10/27/2023 – Vaishali Rameshbabu's many successes have always been overshadowed by those of her younger brother, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. At the Qatar Open, however, the 22-year-old made her third GM norm and will get GM title when she reaches 2500 Elo. Her current live rating is 2471.7. Thorsten Cmiel takes a look at Vaishali's grandmaster performance at the Qatar Masters, the second strongest Open of the year. | Photos: Qatar Chess

10/20/2023 – Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev beat compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov in blitz tiebreaks to win the Qatar Masters in Doha. Yakubboev entered the tournament as the 19th seed, and obtained a round-9 victory over Karthikeyan Murali to reach the tiebreaks. Abdusattorov, on his part, defeated former sole leader Arjun Erigaisi in the final round of classical chess. Arjun made a very unfortunate blunder to lose the all-important encounter. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/20/2023 – The Qatar Masters, one of the strongest open tournaments of the year, is taking place on October 11-20. A star-studded field with Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri as the top seeds fights for a prize fund of $108,250. | Follow the games live with computer-assisted analysis starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST)

10/20/2023 – Round 8 of the Qatar Masters saw Arjun Erigaisi beating David Paravyan to enter Friday’s final round as the sole leader, with six players standing a half point behind. Among these six chasers are Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov — Arjun’s rival in round 9 — who both grabbed wins on Thursday. Former co-leaders Karthikeyan Murali, Narayanan S.L., Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev still have chances to win the event as well. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/19/2023 – Karthikeyan Murali became the third Indian player to ever beat Magnus Carlsen in a classical chess game, as he defeated the former world champion with the black pieces in round 7 of the Qatar Masters. Thanks to the upset win, Karthikeyan joined a 6-player leading pack with two rounds to go in Doha. Smilarly, David Paravyan became a co-leader by beating one of the rating favourites, as he got the better of Dommaraju Gukesh on board 5. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/18/2023 – Four players are sharing the lead with 5/6 points at the Qatar Masters in Doha. Indian GM Narayanan S.L., the sole leader before the rest day, drew Nodirbek Abdusattorov on Tuesday, allowing Arjun Erigaisi (India), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan) and Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzbekistan) to join the lead. Among the eight players standing at a half point distance are rating favourites Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. In round 6, Carlsen beat Aditya Samant with the black pieces. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/15/2023 – The first sole leader of the Qatar Masters emerged after round 5, as Narayanan S.L., the thirteenth seed in Doha, obtained an upset win over Gukesh D. to become the only participant with 4½ points. Going into the one rest day of the event, twelve players stand a half point behind the leader, including Hikaru Nakamura, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Arjun Erigaisi. Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri stand on 3½/5 scores — the latter lost to 19-year-old IM Rudik Makarian in round 5. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/14/2023 – Five players are sharing the lead with perfect scores after three rounds at the Qatar Masters in Doha. Arjun Erigaisi, Javokhir Sindarov (pictured), Narayanan S L, Rinat Jumabayev and Robby Kevlishvili are the co-leaders after Friday’s round. Due to the controversy surrounding Magnus Carlsen’s defeat and ensuing social media post on Thursday, the organizers put forth new anti-cheating regulations. Carlsen bounced back from the shocking loss by beating Al Muthaiah with the white pieces. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/12/2023 – In a shocking development, 23-year-old Kazakh GM Alisher Suleymenov (rated 2512) defeated Magnus Carlsen in round 2 of the Qatar Masters — it was a crushing 31-move victory. Carlsen later shared some concerns on his X account, noting that it is “incredibly frustrating to see organisers still not taking anti-cheating seriously at all”, as he had been distracted by Suleymenov’s playing with an analog watch. Carlsen clarified that he was not accusing his opponent of cheating. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/12/2023 – Super-GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri kicked off with wins at the Qatar Masters in Doha. Round 1 saw a few upsets though, with fourth seed Dommaraju Gukesh only managing a draw against IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh, and tenth seed Vladimir Fedoseev even losing to 19-year-old Indian IM Kushagra Mohan. The highest-rated woman player in the field, Bibisara Assaubayeva, also suffered a loss in the first round, against IM Rakesh Kumar Jena. | Photos: Qatar Chess Association

10/10/2023 – Eight years after two very successful editions of the Qatar Masters, won by Yu Yangyi (2014) and Magnus Carlsen (2015), the extraordinarily strong open is back. Carlsen returns to Doha and is joined by the likes of Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri and Dommaraju Gukesh. The tournament will be a 9-round Swiss open, with a $108,250 prize fund up for grabs. | Photo: FIDE / Fischer Random World Chess Championship